


The Ink on my Skin (Led Me Straight to You)

by doitsushine92, tomodachificfest



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Chinguline (EXO), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 18:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14338779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doitsushine92/pseuds/doitsushine92, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomodachificfest/pseuds/tomodachificfest
Summary: The first words your soulmate says to you appear on your skin on your 18th birthday. Jongdae has three beautiful soulmarks.





	The Ink on my Skin (Led Me Straight to You)

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt Code:**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> #022

The alarm clock on his bedside table slowly ticks its way to midnight. Jongdae watches the seconds go by, tightly gripping Kyungsoo’s hand in his. The younger boy tried many times to get away, but Jongdae is no bitch that actually goes to the gym and is stronger than his skinny best friend is, so he’s stuck with him.

“How much longer?” Jongdae whines, squeezing Kyungsoo’s hand.

“Thirty seconds,” Kyungsoo says with boredom, but he still squeezes back.

Thirty seconds later Jongdae feels a burning in his body. It doesn’t hurt, it’s just uncomfortably warm, but it’s there and because he wants to freak Kyungsoo out, he hisses and contorts on his spot on the floor.

Kyungsoo widens his eyes, lurching forward to grab Jongdae by the shoulders until the ‘pain’ subsides and honestly, Jongdae is a terrible friend but this is too funny. He can’t help but to start laughing, even as Kyungsoo scowls and hits him in the arm.

It isn’t until his laughter has died down that Jongdae realizes there’s a tingling on three different parts of his body. He rolls up the sleeve of his pajama and stares at the black ink reading “Thank you,” in neat, boxy handwriting.

Then, he takes the entire shirt off and looks down at the left lower side of his abdomen to see the words “Don’t wipe, dab,”. It seems like useful advice, even though the writing is straight up chicken scratch.

And last but not least, he stands up to check himself out in the full-length mirror hanging from his closet door. Right there, in a straight line going along the length of his spine, he finds tattooed in cute, sort of cursive letters, “Oh my god i'm so fucking sorry that's not an expensive shirt is it i'm sorry i'm such a mess today has just been terrible.”

“I’d hate to meet the last one,” Kyungsoo says, standing right behind Jongdae and reading from his skin with a sort of nonplussed expression. Jongdae can only stare at his reflection in wonder, trying to wrap his head around the turn of events.

“I have three soulmates,” Jongdae whispers. Kyungsoo nods and he’s either unimpressed or trying to keep it together for his sake. “I have three soulmates.”

“Are you in shock?” Kyungsoo asks.

“I have three soulmates,” Jongdae says.

“You’re in shock,” Kyungsoo nods, wrapping both arms around Jongdae and letting him cling to him while he processes everything.

“I have three soulmates,” Jongdae whispers again.

“Yes you do,” Kyungsoo laughs, soothingly running a hand down his back. Jongdae starts shaking in his hold, from excitement or nerves or both.

~

For the following months, Jongdae pays extra attention to every interaction he has with others, choosing his first words to strangers carefully and spending his free time thinking about the first thing he said to the people he already knows. Kyungsoo calls him obsessed. Jongdae thinks he’s just being cautious.

Jongdae is sure that whoever it is that owns the words on his back will be hard to miss. He’s certain he hasn’t met them, because he’s never heard anyone speak so many words in just one sentence other than himself.

The hand-wash only expert might be a bit more difficult to find. Then again, Jongdae is shit at eating so maybe he’ll meet his special ¼ the next time he goes gorging himself at the fast food joints near their school.

And the source of all his recent headaches is the simple “thank you.” It’s been driving Jongdae crazy ever since his birthday. Do you know how many times in his life he’s heard the words ‘thank you’? Yeah, neither does Jongdae.

Whatever time Jongdae has that doesn’t go into studying for school, homework, Uni prep or his thesis goes into moaning about his love life to Kyungsoo. To his credit, the younger boy at least pretends to care while they play Smash Bros in Jongdeok’s console. (Mostly, they just hit random buttons at varying degrees of speed to try and figure out the best hits while acting like they know what they’re doing.)

In the meantime, many of his classmates turn eighteen too, coming to school with proud grins and showing off their soulmarks to their friends. Sure, there are a few instances where couples break up once they realize that their first words to each other were not the ones tattooed on their skins. Staying in a relationship past that point is painful for all parties involved, adults always say. Hence why Jongdae never dated anyone.

Jongdae feels more than a little amused when the student at the top of their class ends up being Ms. Park’s soulmate, their math teacher. His classmate had gone a deep red when Ms. Park pulled her aside to show her the tattoo on her wrist and Jongdae had cried with laughter when they both blushed under the principal’s stern glance.

Other than Jongdae, there’s only one other person in his class with more than one soulmate: Kim Hyuna has two tattoos, one on her right forearm and one on the small of her back.

Most of the seniors keep checking each other’s tattoos on the off chance of finding their other half, but Jongdae doesn’t do that. He can’t quite explain it, but he knows none of them are his soulmate.

-

It isn’t until Kyungsoo’s birthday that Jongdae’s life gets turned upside down. Well, more than it already has.

They’re sprawled around the living room in Kyungsoo’s house, blankets strewn everywhere and a movie playing on the TV, a half-eaten cake on the coffee table and way too many soda cans and chip bags lying around them, when the alarm on Jongdae’s phone goes off and he turns around to look at his best friend.

The younger boy has a surprised expression on his face, his mouth hanging open in shock. Jongdae doesn’t even get to ask, Kyungsoo is already rushing towards the bathroom, flicking the light on. Jongdae trails after him, curious to know what soulmark there is on him.

There are three soulmarks tattooed across the skin of Kyungsoo’s body.

On the hollow between two ribs there’s “Because I’m cold and you’re really hot.” in the same cursive letter displayed on Jongdae’s back. The words “Sorry, didn’t see you there.” in that awful illegible writing adorning Jongdae’s abdomen is now printed in Kyungsoo’s shoulder. And finally, the icing on the cake, “You have a cute face,” stares right back at Jongdae from Kyungsoo’s left hip. In Jongdae’s handwriting.

“That means yours is the thank you I received,” Jongdae says absently. He’s only half-aware he said it in the first place.

A sudden memory comes to mind, of Jongdae sitting alone in kindergarten on one of those ugly plastic tables with a frown pulling down his face. He’d been unable to make a friend in the first few hours and now everyone was playing and snacking in pairs and the occasional trios while he sulked in a corner.

And then the chair opposite his got pulled back and Jongdae looked up to see a small boy with a heart for a mouth and a Superman lunchbox offering him one half of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. They shared the meal in silence, Jongdae fed the other boy apple slices and they doodled away on some blank sheets until a bell rang and their teacher was calling everyone to pack up.

As Jongdae put away the blue container with the remains of his lunch – about three slices of apple and an untouched orange – he turned to his new friend and said, “You have a cute face.”

And the other boy had smiled shyly and responded, “Thank you.”

“I’m Kim Jongdae.”

“Do Kyungsoo. Wanna come to my house today? We can play soccer in my backyard!”

“Yeah!”

Thirteen years later they stand in the poorly lit bathroom of Kyungsoo’s bedroom – he can never bother to change the lightbulb and has by now grown used to the flickering of the light -, dressed in their pajamas like the children they are and staring at each other with equal parts emotion and confusion. Kyungsoo’s eyes keep flickering from Jongdae’s eyes to his nose to his lips and back to his eyes like he’s been burnt. Jongdae himself isn’t quite sure how to proceed from here.

“So,” Kyungsoo starts, “you’re my soulmate? One of them?” his voice goes up an octave or two near the end of the sentence. Jongdae supposes this is a lot to take in – he knows, actually, that it is a lot to take in, because not three months ago he was in his shoes.

“I guess,” Jongdae says. He confirms, “I am. Hiya, soulmate.”

Kyungsoo glares. “Don’t say that again.”

“Which part? Soulmate?”

“The other thing.”

“Hiya?”

“Don’t. ”

~

They don’t date, per se. Their relationship doesn’t change much, actually, except now Jongdae hesitates before throwing an arm around Kyungsoo’s shoulder or cuddling up to him. Anyone would argue that the development should be accompanied with at least some hand holding or something similar, but Jongdae is straight-up terrified.

Their parents are overly thrilled to hear they’re soulmates. Mrs. Kim nearly throws a party in their honour with Mr. Do and they actually get somewhat far with the planning before Mrs. Do stops them. Jongdae’s mother pouts when she’s shot down, and then she and Kyungsoo’s dad sulk for the entire weekend.

“Mom,” Jongdeok said to her on that Sunday night during their mandatory Monopoly session. Jongdae was epically losing to his brother, but that is to be expected when playing against a Business major with a mean competitive streak and a mother who’s more excited about purchasing the tiny houses to decorate her properties than actually playing. “Please, you act as if we should be surprised. Kyungwon and I made a bet when they were six and now she owes me 20,000 won.”

Jongdae glared, but the effect was lost on his brother charging their mother for landing on one of his properties – the one with the three hotels. Mrs. Kim lost and she sulked even more.

Kyungsoo goes through something similar in his end. His parents, albeit they’re not shocked like they were, do gasp a little at the news. Mr. Do then turned to his daughter and exclaimed, “I told you so!”

Needless to say, Kyungwon was 30,000 won poorer that night.

No one at school is surprised either. Jongdae wonders if he should be insulted or flattered that they are such an obvious match for each other. Everyone congratulates them, clapping them on their backs and hugging them and overall being ridiculously supportive. It freaks Jongdae out a little if he’s being honest when people he’s never said two words to come up to him and cheer for his love life.

The downside? The incessant amount of questions regarding their status and whether or not they’re together together. Jongdae doesn’t think it’s any of their business to know, but he’s learned by now that just shaking them off does nothing for their curiosity – it just makes them curioser and damn it Jongdae isn’t in Wonderland.

It does, however, give Jongdae a push in the right direction. One afternoon after band practice, in the midst of waiting for Kyungsoo to pack his trumpet and say goodbye to his bandmates, Jongdae works up the courage to do something that frightens him to the core.

When Kyungsoo is finally done mingling with his not-quite-but-sort-of friends, Jongdae practically drags him down the hallway and out of the building, not slowing down until they’re off the school’s premises despite the various protests and sputtering Kyungsoo makes. Safe in the familiar streets of Seocho-gu, Jongdae slows down his pace to a more moderate one that won’t make them be in the receiving end of old ladies’ glares.

“Wanna tell me what that was about?” Kyungsoo suggests, winded and begrudgingly amused.

Jongdae doesn’t give him a verbal answer. Instead he, very slowly and carefully, as if approaching a wounded animal, takes Kyungsoo’s hand in his and tugs him to the ice cream parlour in the corner. It isn’t the first time they come here, they are actually known as some of the regulars that get discount just for befriending the staff, but it is the first time they come here on a date.

Which Kyungsoo isn’t even aware is a date and Jongdae should probably let him know.

“Just so you know,” Jongdae says as he opens the door, “this is a date. I am officially taking you out on a date, as your soulmate. Is that okay?”?

Kyungsoo nods. “It’s okay.”

Jongdae beams at him. They sit on their usual corner booth, the one that’s seen them cry over finals and projects and otherwise responsibilities in the past five years. Hyeongseob comes up to their table and says, “One chocolate mint and one cookie dough?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Jongdae jokes. Hyeongseob rolls his eyes and walks away with a smile.

“So,” Kyungsoo starts. “Our first date.”

“Yep,” Jongdae confirms. They slip into an awkward silence only broken by the arrival of their ice cream. Hyeongseob shoots them odd looks yet doesn’t ask.

The silence stretches for minutes until Jongdae drops his spoon and it clatters to the table. “This is ridiculous. Soo-yah, we’re best friends on a date. Let’s talk about whatever you want and avoid the silence.”

“Alright,” Kyungsoo concedes. “What do you propose?”

“The biology test,” Jongdae says ominously. “I failed, you failed - we all failed. I’m thinking about setting the professor’s house on fire, are you in?”

Kyungsoo laughs and just like that the awkwardness is gone and they’re back to being Jongdae and Kyungsoo, bickering childishly and throwing crumpled up used napkins at each other until Jisung threatens to kick them out – not that he will, he loves them too much, but he still thinks it is his duty to pretend.

They leave the parlour half an hour later holding hands.

~

Graduation goes by smoothly. Jongdae presents his thesis and receives full marks, he passes most of his final exams with flying colours (except for chemistry, which he barely survives) and he feels like crying when he receives his medal from their principal.

Kyungsoo does cry for him, later, when their parents are done taking pictures of them and most of their friends have gone home to get ready for the graduation party. There’s not much people left in the auditorium and Jongdae is about to suggest they go too when Kyungsoo stops him and gives him a tight hug as he cries and tells him he’s proud of him.

“I’m proud of you too,” Jongdae soothes him.

“You don’t get it,” Kyungsoo sobs into his chest. “I thought I was going to have to save your ass at the end of the term! But you did it yourself and now we’ll go to college together!”

Jongdae shakes him off and walks away with a pout, uncaring that Kyungsoo is half crying and half laughing now, yelling half-assed apologies after him. But at the party, they dance together and embarrass each other and practically run away when the DJ starts playing ballads and the couples present all rush to the dance floor to sway side to side really slowly.

The night is over way too soon; one moment Jongdae is stuffing his face by the dessert’s table and the next he’s clinging to one of his classmates and crying about how much he’ll miss them. They’re both bawling, actually, they all are, all fifty of them. It’s a small class but they’re tight, okay?

When Jongdae gets home in the early hours of the morning, his mom waves sleepily from the top of the stairs and goes back to her own room – she, along with most parents, left the party around midnight and left her son to his own devices. Jongdae had to split a cab with a girl who conveniently lives on his street. She cried when they got to her house and they cried together until the taxi driver grumbled at her to get off. Jongdae isn’t even sure why they’re all so emotional. Sure, they’ve been together all their lives, small town and all, but they’re going off to college! It’s not the end of the world. And the alcohol at the party was limited so it can’t be that either.

Before collapsing on his bed, naked save for his boxer and un-showered because he literally couldn’t care less, Jongdae checks his phone and finds a text message from Kyungsoo.

I love you, Jongdae-yah, even if you spilled your punch juice on my shirt

Jongdae replies with a bunch of put-together emoticons and passes out.

~

College isn’t that much like Jongdae expected. For starters, he grew up listening to horror stories about Uni and professors and the pressure yet on his first lecture a young man – really, he can’t be even thirty – in a band T-shirt walks into the hall, says, “Hey, I’m your math professor,” and proceeded to talk about his multiple reasons to love Ruffini.

Jongdae and Kyungsoo move into a one-bedroom apartment, barely big enough to fit the little furniture they own but it’s cosy and it’s theirs. Kyungsoo immediately declares the kitchen off limits to Jongdae but leaves bathroom chores to his soulmate because he cares. Jongdae grimaces the first time the bucket full of cleaning supplies is thrusted in his hands.

At night, the heater makes an odd humming sound that’s only annoying until Kyungsoo is sleepy enough to allow cuddles, and then all other nuisances fall away because Jongdae gets to tuck his soulmate under his chin and his heart does these somersaults in his chest he’s not entirely sure are good for his health.

Kyungsoo is often too busy with his part-time job to cook lunch, but Jongdae isn’t, so he always makes sure to make enough for both of them and brings a Tupperware to the store. Kyungsoo pretends like he’s mad that Jongdae broke the rule of ‘No Kim is allowed in the kitchen’, even though Jongdae can see right through him.

The downside is the worrying amount of responsibilities Jongdae finds himself buried under. There are bills to pay and college work and work-work and too little time to spend with his boyfriend. Now most of his time goes into long hours at the library with his nose stuck in a mountain of books, doing research and homework.

But Jongdae knows to look for the silver lining in everything, and he finds it one late evening. He’s leaving the library later than usual, barely able to see over the top of his books when he runs into someone.

“Oh my god I'm so fucking sorry that's not an expensive shirt is it I'm sorry I'm such a mess today has just been terrible.”

Jongdae honest to God doesn’t notice the iced coffee staining his white shirt. He doesn’t notice that his books are on the ground, or that his notes are soaked in coffee too. All he sees is the boy standing in front of him, apologies spilling from his lips. He’s roughly the same height as Jongdae, with honey brown hair and the cutest pout. “It’s not expensive… at all,” he croaks out.

The boy freezes mid-sentence, his eyes going wide and he really looks at Jongdae now. A smile is already brightening his face when he says, “So you’re one of them? Oh my god, wait until I tell Chanyeol I found you, he’s gonna freak!”

“Chanyeol?” Jongdae asks, mind reeling.

“Yeah!” the other boy exclaims, “He’s one of our soulmates. You’re gonna love him, I swear. Here, these were his words to me,” the other pulls down the collar of his shirt and there, tattooed across his collarbones, reads you have very pretty eyes. “Isn’t that the sweetest?”

“It is,” Jongdae mumbles. “Oh shit! Kyungsoo!”

“Kyungsoo?” his soulmate asks. “Is that…?”

“The fourth soulmate,” Jongdae confirms. “Oh, dear lord, please let him be the youngest, I’m gonna have a fieldtrip.”

They make two very similar phone calls then. Kyungsoo is grumpy at first that Jongdae interrupts him mid-dinner but audibly perks up when he hears about the two other soulmates Jongdae managed to find all on his own. His other soulmate is practically screaming into his phone when Jongdae hangs up with a, “You know you love me, Soo.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll see you tonight Yeol, I love you,” he says before hanging up too. Then he turns to Jongdae and says, “I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves. I’m Byun Baekhyun, your soulmate.”

“Kim Jongdae,” Jongdae grins, sticking his hand out for a handshake. Baekhyun reciprocates, wide smile on his face.

“Chanyeol says you and Kyungsoo are invited to his gig tomorrow night,” Baekhyun informs him. “He’s in a band. They usually play in bars and other stuff but the lead singer knows a guy who got them a spot at a music festival.”

Baekhyun continues to gush about Chanyeol for the next hour, and in return Jongdae speaks wonders about Kyungsoo. At one point, they both stop and stare at each other before bursting out in laughter.

“Dude, you’re so whipped,” Baekhyun giggles.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Jongdae shoots back, voice laced with mirth. “How about we talk about ourselves for a change?”

They agree on that. Baekhyun tells him he’s majoring in Education, hoping to become a third-grade teacher specifically because, in his opinion, that’s the best one. Jongdae tells him being a business major is slowly sucking his soul. “I better be filthy rich when I’m thirty or something.”

“You three can pay the bills and I’ll just be happy with my teacher’s pay check,” Baekhyun giggles. “Yeollie’s major is music, in case I didn’t mention it.” He did, actually. “What about Kyungsoo?”

“Culinary school,” Jongdae says. “He uses me as a guinea pig, which is as great as it sounds.”

“He and Yeollie will get along,” Baekhyun says. “He’s the only reason I haven’t died from instant ramen overdose.”

They chat well into the night, walking circles around campus until they’re too tired to keep going. By then they’ve run out of things to talk about and have moved on to discuss things like favourite Disney princess (“I love Belle,” “Dude, me too!”) and how many nights they’ve gone without sleeping so far.

They part ways around midnight, exchange numbers and Baekhyun promises to text him the address to Chanyeol’s concert. When Jongdae gets home, he’s sporting a silly smile on his face and he feels like he’s floating. Kyungsoo’s eyes soften when he catches sight of him, giving in to a bear hug with an eye roll. Jongdae is just so happy he could explode, and he still hasn’t even met Chanyeol.

~

The venue is packed by the time they make it. Kyungsoo wasn’t too happy about the prospect of going to a loud concert, but Jongdae convinces him with the promise of meeting his soulmate – and free alcohol, as Baekhyun told him through text.

Contrary to what Jongdae imagined when Baekhyun said ‘music festival’, the concert is held in a bar, except this bar is also slash club and has a stage bigger than most bars do. It also has a second-floor balcony style, so even if you’re upstairs you can see the stage and the bands perform.

Kyungsoo excuses himself before they reach the table so he can go to the bathroom, no doubt to give himself a pep talk, so Jongdae finds Baekhyun on his own. The boy shouts, “You made it!” as soon as he sees Jongdae and pulls him into a hug.

Baekhyun babbles excitedly about the concert and what a great opportunity this is and how many agents are supposedly present tonight. Kyungsoo makes an appearance minutes later, looking completely out of place in his button down and pants surrounded by metal heads in leather jackets. So maybe Jongdae is exaggerating a bit, it’s still funny.

“Soo!” Jongdae exclaims. “Kyungsoo, this is Baekhyun, Baekhyun, meet Kyungsoo.”

Upon sitting down on the high stool between Jongdae and Baekhyun, he turns around and asks Baekhyun, very seriously, “Why are you trying to get inside my shirt?”

Baekhyun gives him a shit eating grin. “Because I’m cold and you’re really hot.”

“That was terrible!” a shout comes from Jongdae’s right. When he turns around, he finds a tall boy with black hair ruffled from either his hands or from head banging along to the bands playing, a black tank top underneath a purple hoodie and a guitar case slung over his shoulder. “Baekhyunnie, I thought we agreed you should drop the pick-up lines.”

“Yeol!” Baekhyun exclaims with glee writing all over his face. Jongdae, after realizing this is his final soulmate, takes an even closer look at him: Chanyeol has a dimple on his cheek and the most endearing smile, not to mention his eyes are impossibly fond when he’s looking at Baekhyun. Jongdae suspects he looks the same when he’s staring at Kyungsoo. “Meet our soulmates!”

“Hey!” Chanyeol shouts back. Kyungsoo has a look on his face that Jongdae can’t quite decipher, until he says to Chanyeol, “Please stop screaming in my ear.”

Jongdae already sees where this is going, but he still laughs when Chanyeol gives him a lopsided grin and teases, “Sorry, didn’t see you there.” Baekhyun laughs so loud he nearly falls over, accidentally knocking his knees on the underside of the table and the beer bottle in front of Jongdae spills, some even landing on his shirt. He’s in the middle of dragging a napkin across the stain when Chanyeol says, “Don’t wipe, dab.”

And because Jongdae, like most other millennials, has been brainwashed by the internet and doesn’t catch the real meaning, he deadpans, “That’s terrible advice.”

“Oh my god,” Baekhyun cackles. “I always knew it would be some dumb shit like that, I knew it!”

“I think he means literally dab, not the dance,” Kyungsoo pipes up. Jongdae looks at him as if to say yeah, I got that. Chanyeol lingers long enough to get formalities over with before his phone rings – he somehow manages to hear the ringtone over the music – and he has to run backstage to get ready.

Baekhyun interrogates Kyungsoo for a few minutes, a lazy grin on his face as he listens to him talk. He asks about culinary school and living with Jongdae and answers the questions Kyungsoo has. Jongdae knows Kyungsoo, knows he’d rather find things out on his own than hear about it from someone else, which is why his questions remain short and simple, things like:

“Where do you live?” “My parents helped us get an apartment off campus, two blocks away from the Engineering faculty.”

“How did you two meet?” “Eighth grade! I’d just moved in from Gyeonggi and Chanyeol was my first friend.”

“Is he always that loud?” “Yes, but I’m worse.”

When Chanyeol’s band comes on stage, the crowd cheers, Baekhyun nearly standing on the table. Chanyeol sends him a wink that makes the girls go wild and Baekhyun reciprocates with a blow kiss included.

Jongdae has to admit, soulmate or not, Chanyeol’s band is actually pretty great. Chanyeol is the bassist, and besides him there’s a drummer, two guitarists and a singer. “The drummer’s name is Yixing!” Baekhyun tells them while the band sets up. “The singer is Lu Han. Guitarist on the right is Jongin and the other one is Sehun. They’re soulmates and Chanyeol is this close to adopting them. I always say I’ll only allow it if I get to keep Yixing.”

They play three songs, then an encore due to popular demand. By the end of it, Chanyeol’s hair is matted to his forehead and his hoodie has fallen around his shoulders, hanging on thanks to the zipper. His grin is contagious; he looks like he just had the time of his life.

Once they’re off stage, Baekhyun gets up and motion for them to follow him. “I’ll go pay, wait for me outside, okay?!”

“I got it!” Jongdae says. Baekhyun tries to protest but Jongdae gives him a gentle shove towards the door. “I insist. You invited us here, got us the premium seats… my treat.”

Baekhyun relents, nodding and waving cutely before he bounds away. Kyungsoo stays glued to Jongdae’s side, standing in line with him in silent. “I liked them,” he says. The cash register is in the quieter part of the bar, so there’s no need to shout or even talk too loudly. “I mean, they’re loud and they’ll probably give me a headache but… I liked them.”

“Me too,” Jongdae agrees. “And did you see the way Chanyeol looks at Baekhyun like the sun shines out of his ass? I cried a little inside.”

Jongdae knows Kyungsoo agrees, even if he tries to hide it with an eye roll, because his gaze softens. “Baekhyun really loves him, too.”

“Sort of how I love you,” Jongdae coos, leaning closer to him until his face is right up there with Kyungsoo’s, planting a smooch on his cheek. Kyungsoo reddens and one of his hands finds Jongdae’s, lacing their fingers together.

The bill isn’t too high so Jongdae bats Kyungsoo’s wallet away and pays on his own. They walk out, hand in hand, to find Baekhyun and Chanyeol furiously making out against the wall. Jongdae tries really hard not to giggle. They only spring apart because Kyungsoo clears his throat pointedly, and even then Chanyeol keeps his arm around his shoulder and Baekhyun burrows into his side.

“I liked your band,” Jongdae tells Chanyeol. His mouth curls up in the kittenish smile Kyungsoo always pokes his finger at. “You’re cool. All of you, I mean.”

“Thanks,” Chanyeol grins back. “Wanna come with us to the after party? Lu Han’s soulmate is bringing the booze and if you’re lucky maybe you’ll catch a rare cuddly Sehun.”

Kyungsoo’s hold on Jongdae’s hand tightens in a silent plea. “Uh, we’d love to, but Kyungsoo has an early shift and I have an essay to write, but hey! How about we meet up on the weekend? There’s a cat café down the block from our apartment.”

“Of course!” Baekhyun exclaims. It’s only then Jongdae realizes they’re all probably talking loudly, his ears buzzing still. “Just text me the address and the time. Oh! Kyungsoo, I need your number so I can make a group chat we can all talk on.”

The way he talks is so excitedly, the smile on his face so wide and lovely, Chanyeol kisses his cheek and nuzzles into his neck. Something warm and tight coils in Jongdae’s chest when he hears the way Baekhyun giggles and shies away with a mumble of being ticklish. With some final goodbyes and a promise to make the chat tonight, both couples part ways.

At home, Jongdae nearly tackles Kyungsoo to the bed, not wasting any time to smother him in kisses. Kyungsoo kisses him back with as much fervour and they spend the following hour just talking in hushed tones between kisses. Kyungsoo, at some point, asks Jongdae if seeing Baekhyun and Chanyeol is what got him so enthusiastic, and Jongdae is shameless enough to admit to it.

~

The cat café is run by the parents of one of Kyungsoo’s classmates, Taeyong, so they get premium seats –right next to the kittens. Jongdae waits for the other two to arrive with three kittens on his lap, while Kyungsoo pets the oldest cat in the local with a bored expression. The cat is so old he doesn’t even purr anymore, but it does fall asleep sitting on Kyungsoo and one of the waiters smiles and says, “He obviously likes you. Grumpy here isn’t very friendly with others.”

Jongdae doesn’t laugh for a minute. But then he notices both the cat and Kyungsoo making the same expression and his cackle is so loud it scares away the kittens climbing up his pants.

Baekhyun and Chanyeol can be seen crossing the streets through the large windows. Jongdae perks up at the sight of them, waving them over when they enter the local. Baekhyun looks like he just rolled out of bed, his hair windswept and the shirt he’s wearing is hanging off his shoulder, but he smiles when he sees them. Chanyeol looks far more composed, a large hoodie swallowing his frame and skinny jeans that make his legs look kilometric.

Their date could not have gone better. Kyungsoo, despite his usual shyness, opens up to their soulmates quite easily, and soon he’s bantering and pulling on Chanyeol’s ear as if he’s been doing it his whole life. Baekhyun tells him at least ten times he’s adorable, a fact backed up by Jongdae and his endless army of candid pictures he has saved on his phone.

The only hitch they encounter is when Chanyeol starts sneezing and his nose gets all red and runny. Baekhyun makes an exasperated sigh and says, “I thought you said you took something before we left.”

“I did!” Chanyeol quickly defends himself. But right after he sneezes again and Baekhyun rolls his eyes, taking the kitten on his boyfriend’s lap and placing it on the floor. Chanyeol pouts like a child and whines at Baekhyun, but the shorter boy hears none of it.

“You’re allergic to cats?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Not cats!” Chanyeol says. “Just… their fur.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” Jongdae whines. “We could have gone somewhere else.”

Baekhyun smiles at the whine. Kyungsoo deadpans, “As you may have noticed, he communicates through the fine art of whining and pouting until he gets what he wants.”

“Cute,” Baekhyun says.

They leave the café for Chanyeol’s sake and take their date to the park. There, Baekhyun drags Kyungsoo to an ice cream stand while babbling about his favourite flavours, leaving the other two to their own devices. Chanyeol grabs Jongdae by the hand and leads him to his “Favourite spot in the park, come on, you’re gonna love it!”

Jongdae has to admit he doesn’t really pay attention to whatever it is Chanyeol is saying. His mind is occupied screaming “WE’RE HOLDING HANDS!” at him while eye-balling their joined hands. He also has to admit that he flushes down to his neck when Chanyeol looks back at him and shoots him a blinding smile.

They end up at a shady corner of the park, with canopy trees and benches spread around with enough privacy you can have a conversation without the possibility of someone else eavesdropping. Chanyeol takes a seat on one of the benches and pats the empty spot next to him, prompting Jongdae to join him.

“Isn’t this nice?” Chanyeol asks. He has a pleased, calm grin on his face, like he could stay sitting here forever and not mind at all. Jongdae wouldn’t mind seeing that smile forever either.

“It is,” Jongdae hums. And it is; it’s cool, not too breezy but it isn’t scorching hot like the rest of the park at this time of year and at this hour. “How did you find it? I’ve been to this park and never seen it.”

Jongdae can’t be sure, but he thinks there’s a faint blush dusting his cheeks when Chanyeol answers, “Baekhyunnie and me used to come here when we were in high school.”

“Really?” Jongdae leers. Chanyeol bats him away with an eye roll. “And what did you two get up to here in such privacy?”

Chanyeol eyes him. Jongdae bursts out laughing.

They talk for almost an hour, voices hushed as if not to disturb the peace of their corner. Chanyeol asks a myriad of questions about Jongdae and his childhood and college and how he met Kyungsoo. He asks to see his tattoos, too, to which Jongdae complies. When he shows Chanyeol the tattoo belonging to him, Chanyeol reaches out and lightly grazes it with his finger. The touch sends a tingling of electricity up Jongdae’s spine.

“How did you…?” Jongdae begins to ask.

“Baekhyun and I figured out that your soulmate touching their soulmark on you is quite... shocking, for lack of a better word,” Chanyeol tells him. “He always shivers if I touch his soulmark. Same if he touches mine. I sort of wanted to see if the same would happen with you.”

“Huh,” Jongdae hums. “Never noticed.”

“It doesn’t happen to you and Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol asks curiously.

“Well, his soulmark is on my wrist but we don’t usually hold hands. It’s more like I drag him everywhere by the arm,” Jongdae muses. “And my soulmark is on his hip and I’ve never really touched him there, so…”

Chanyeol gets an odd glint in his eyes. “You guys have never...?”

Jongdae does not blush, absolutely not. “No.”

Chanyeol is silent. Then, “That’s so adorable oh god I need to tell Baekhyun he’ll cry.”

Speaking of. Baekhyun calls Chanyeol on the phone as if summoned, demanding to know where they are. Chanyeol replies they’re on their spot before hanging up. Minutes later, in the midst of the two doing pulse with their elbows awkwardly resting on the space between them, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo show up with ice cream for them. Baekhyun wonders aloud if maybe neither has won because they’re both so strong, but Kyungsoo shoots the idea down quickly with, “Or equally weak.”

Jongdae and Chanyeol whine at him at the same time. Baekhyun looks entirely too amused while Kyungsoo has a dead look in his eyes, like he can see his future and it’s filled with whining soulmates.

~

While they don’t move in all together right away, they do spend most of their time with each other, so much so that at times Jongdae feels like he hasn’t been to his own apartment in a lifetime. He has a drawer of things at Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s and so does Kyungsoo – they have drawers at their place, too.

Chanyeol teaches Jongdae how to cook. Unlike Kyungsoo, he’s not endlessly worried that Jongdae will burn himself or the food or the kitchen and laughs like a child everytime Jongdae spills flour on the floor or uses salt instead of sugar or messes up in any other way. Their pancakes taste like hell but at least they had fun.

Studying isn’t much of a task anymore, either. Well, it still is, actually, but Jongdae now has three people to complain to rather than just one, which means they’re least likely to get fed up with him and lock him in the bathroom. Baekhyun even teaches him some studying techniques to memorize things easier if he’s having problems with a topic and knows exactly when Jongdae needs someone to pull him out of the library and get some fresh air.

Jongdae also learns a lot about his two new soulmates.

He learns that, while Baekhyun might be clingy and everywhere, Chanyeol is very touchy-feely too. Not that Jongdae is complaining. He loves physical contact, after all, and what better than to hold hands with his soulmate? Nothing.

Jongdae will forever feel scarred from the time he and Chanyeol were on a date at a park. They were holding hands and everything was nice and peachy, until Chanyeol gets distracted and pulls away from him to go chase a goddamn butterfly. Needless to say, Jongdae does the mature thing: he pouts, stomps his feet and throws a tantrum until Chanyeol laughs and locks hands with him once more.

Jongdae also learns that Baekhyun can be surprisingly quiet and gentle when needed. For instance, one night, when Jongdae is tired, exhausted and done with life, he goes home to find an empty apartment and a note on the fridge from Kyungsoo saying he’s visiting his mother and will be back in the morning. In need of someone to cuddle, Jongdae turned to their group chat and sent a very eloquent message:

A D A M

Jongdab: sad

In less than thirty minutes Baekhyun was knocking on the door, a pack of beers in one hand and a promise that the pizza would arrive shortly. Jongdae was aggressively pinned to the couch and forced under a blanket, and after they gorged themselves with pizza and beer, Baekhyun slid behind him and trapped Jongdae between his legs, played with his hair and demanded to know what was wrong.

The next morning, Kyungsoo arrived home to find the two snuggled on the couch and Chanyeol pawing sadly at the front door like a lost puppy.

~

Jongdae cannot possibly say he loves one of them more than he loves the others. But he can say what he loves the most about each of them.

He loves Chanyeol’s kisses, because Chanyeol always holds him close, one hand on his cheek and the other on his waist, his lips so soft and plush sliding with his and he always, always ends up talking against his mouth about one thing or another he finds fascinating about Jongdae and then chuckles when Jongdae whines, still attached to his lips like he can’t physically let go and it sends his heart into erratic beating.

He loves Baekhyun’s hugs, because Baekhyun is like a koala and wraps himself around him with all limbs, pressing his face into the crook of Jongdae’s neck and tickling him with his breath but Jongdae can’t bring himself to complain because Baekhyun is always warm and his hugs are the best thing to happen to Jongdae after a long day of work and he’d rather lose a limb than not feel those arms around him anymore.

He loves Kyungsoo’s advices, plain and simple, because they are like Kyungsoo, steady and straightforward, not too complicated but still trustworthy. Kyungsoo never gives failed advice, he’s always on point with what Jongdae needs to hear instead of what he wants and takes no bullshit from him, setting him straight with a few words. And of course, he always throws an arm around him and that makes it even better.

In short, Jongdae is head-over-heels for his soulmates, he has become an actual sap and his soulmates are coming for his soul with all the kissing and touching and sweet words. And sure, not everything is rainbows and hearts all the time, they have their disagreements over little things as well as bigger things, like the time Chanyeol and Kyungsoo didn’t talk for a week because Kyungsoo called him annoying, or the time their apartment was the Cold War zone over career prospects and meddling family members who don’t know when to keep their mouth shuts.

But at the end of the day, they’re in love, they’re together and they’re the happiest they’ll ever be.


End file.
